12/8/11

Neil Young 1973-03-11 Civic Auditorium, Bakersfield, CA

'Last Album'

Good Audience recordings

Mp3 @ 192 kbps

Artwork Included

OK, just one more 'Neil' show, before I move on to other stuff. So, here's another 'oldie' from Neil. This one captures a rather dark and rough period for Neil (but musically rich). This comes from the 'Time Fades Away' tour, which was during the time Neil was dealing with the death of former guitarist Danny Whitten, among other things (while rehearsing for this 1973 tour, Young dismissed his guitarist Danny Whitten with a plane ticket and a $50 note. The next night Whitten was dead from $50 worth of raw heroin). From 1973-1975 Neil released Time Fades Away, On The Beach, and Tonight's The Night, all made within months of each other and sharing the same source of guilt, self-doubt and regret. That's a lot of pain to pour out onto three albums over three years after hitting the ceiling with Harvest and the million selling single, Heart Of Gold, in 1972. Those were chaotic days. Last Album is a two-CD set that offers the complete Civic Auditorium show in Bakersfield on March 11, 1973, plus several songs from a couple other early dates on the tour (at New York and Florida). It starkly captures Young's mood at the time. Nostalgic and pained. Last Album is a document of painful honesty that will likely never be repeated.